Why do you REFUSE to pass left/drive right?
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Anonymous
You continue to pretend the law is something other than it is. You bold "if you are driving at posted speed limit", while ignoring the real qualifier: "if it is rush hour or heavy traffic." By your own account, the police told you that, if it is not rush hour, or there is not heavy traffic, you need to get over to the right when someone is overtaking you. You don't like the actual content of this statement, so you ignore what was said. It's kind of sad that you are so invested in being right about this issue that you ignore contrary, authoritative information presented on this board so that you can continue to feel the way you want to feel. I'm sure there are many like you, on this and other issues, which is no doubt a major reason that driving is so unpleasant around here. |
Anonymous
And here's the core delusion at work: if only you were to get out of my way, driving would be *so* pleasant in the greater DC area. DC driving sucks. It's going to suck. It's only going to get worse. No amount of chimerical villains you conjure up is going to change that. I'm curious though: when is the traffic in the DC area not at least "heavy traffic"? Do you live around here? |
Anonymous
I do live here. Heavy traffic is a common, but certainly not universal, occurrence around here. For example, I was on I-495 between River Road and Old Georgetown Road at about 8:30 this morning, and traffic was hardly heavy. Flow of traffic was at about 70 -- I was in the right lane doing 60 or so, because I needed to exit -- it was easy to keep 4-5 car lengths behind the car in front of me, and easy to change lanes as needed. This kind of traffic condition happens fairly often when you are not committed to thinking that DC traffic is "always" heavy so that you can continue driving in the left lane whenever you feel like it. What is so hard about admitting that, if someone is coming up behind you faster than you want to go, and it is safe to move over for them, that you are supposed to do so? I do this all the time, and it is really not a big deal. And if I feel like driving slow, which I do more and more often these days due to the craziness on the roads, I get in the right lane and drive 55 or 65, depending on conditions. Not everyone who thinks you are wrong on this issue is a psychotic speed demon. Some of us just recognize that failure to yield to faster traffic, whether they are speeding or not, does a lot to create very dangerous situations on the road and people shouldn't do it. And, in at least some jurisdictions under some circumstances, the law recognizes this and requires people to yield to faster traffic. |
Anonymous
PP here. I don't have a hard time admitting that. I also rarely see this kind of behavior. What I *usually* see are drivers in the left lane, passing slower traffic in the right lanes, but only doing so 10-15 mph over the posted speed limit, rather than 20-25 mph over the posted speed limit, as the occasional scofflaw would prefer. Is failure to yield to an overtaking car "dangerous"? In the sense that, when traffic is very light, and the lead car isn't passing cars on the right, and there's no issue with getting over, certainly that creates a situation that's marginally more dangerous than otherwise--and it's dangerous completely because of the impatience of the passing driver. But in 90% of the situations that you see in this area (where 4-5 car lengths is what you *should* be maintaining at all times) it's far more dangerous to have cars constantly stepping in and out of the left hand lane to allow reckless drivers to pass than it is to simply maintain lane position, passing (albeit more slowly) cars on the right. It's really a non-issue for me, and (like folks who freak out when a light-change isn't met with an immediate and violent acceleration by the lead car) is something that calm and reasonable adults simply take in stride. The bottom line is that some folks like to drive 70-80 mph in the left-hand lane, unimpeded by congestion. Unfortunately, that's not often possible because there's heavy traffic. Rather than blame faceless factors like population growth, sprawling development, and the like, some would rather just project ulterior motives on their fellow drivers. But sadly, things are just the way they are, and sometimes you have to get in line and wait along with everyone else. |
Anonymous
| Oh, one last thing: the contingent factor here is "when it's safe to do so". Unfortunately (or fortunately) that's a decision the lead driver gets to make, not the reckless driver who's speeding and wants to pass. Adulthood. |
Anonymous
So why is it ok to be in the left lane passing people at SL+ 10-15, but not at SL+20-25? Your outrage as to "reckless" speeders seems to be most selective. As does your constant speculation as to the motives of other drivers. Or maybe you really are just a better person; I certainly have no basis to contest such an assertion, if you choose to make it explicitly, rather than implicitly. 
It's not really so hard, though, nor so psychologically complicated. One should always drive in the right lanes, when road conditions allow, using the left lanes solely for passing, if possible. This does not apply in highly congested conditions, of course. When driving in the left lane, it is both courteous, and sometimes legally required, to yield to overtaking traffic, whatever its speed, so long as it is safe to do so. Obviously the yielding vehicle has the call as to whether it is safe to yield, but they ought to exercise that judgment based on actual conditions, not using safety concerns as a veiled rationalization for failure to yield -- if a driver is that concerned about their ability to yield for traffic, they probably shouldn't be in the left lane at all. I don't think there is anything in these statements to disagree with, right? We could continue to go back and forth, but it only makes sense if we've got a substantive disagreement. Do we? |
Anonymous
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Sigh, OP here. Never expected this thread to take off like this.
I wish that everyone, whatever they may think is the proper speed to be going in the left lane, would just move right when the opportunity presents itself. I try to be considerate of other drivers. If someone behind me wants to pass, why WOULDN'T I just move over for them? It's not a herculean endeavor for goodness sakes. Besides I'd rather have a fast nut drive away in front of me then tailgating me. I don't expect anyone to take their life in their hands to "get the heel out of the way". But common courtesy dictates you just move over if someone wants to pass you. I'd do this in the grocery store, why wouldn't I do it on the highway? But many of you have answered my original question. I now understand why you REFUSE to pass left/drive right. It's not encouraging. 
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Anonymous
tee hee, that was supposed to be "get the HELL out of my way"
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Anonymous
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It's actually a trick of perception: those people actually *are* getting out of your way. Just not fast enough for your liking. We perceive all sorts of things like this: we notice every other person at the grocery store won't move the Hell out of our way, while ignoring the fact that we leave the cart in the middle of the aisle because we're "just going to be a second."
This might help explain why the behavior of everyone else seems so frustrating to you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_attribution_error Actually, it explains about 90% of the kvetching that goes on on DCUM. |
SAM2
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I just checked Youtube, and discovered that there are dozens of videos of left-lane squatters. As frustrated as I get about it, there are many people more angry than I am.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDaDEqCprhA&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzmgXhbL__M http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfCvzsOwVZE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FFHAlADTw0&feature=related (Oklahoma troopers targeting left-lane squatters!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvovxHlHoVs&feature=related If there is a reason to defend these left-lane drivers, I'd like to hear it. |
Anonymous
Look! Somebody drove bad On the Internetzzz!!! You guy should start a club or something. |
Anonymous
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Left lane squatting IS considered passive aggressive driving in most areas. Take down their plate, video them on your phone, and call the cops. Simple. They can take their pent up anger elsewhere. |
Anonymous
| 101 posts - don't tell me some posters are actually defending those drivers who pull out into the left lane and then just hang out there!!!!! |
Anonymous
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Why exactly are people supposed to support others driving 25 miles over the speed limit?
I can fully understand driving on the right lane if you want to drive right at or below the speed limit but the left lane is not for reckless driving! I stay in the left lane on one road because drivers go 50-60mph when the speed limit is 35mph. The traffic doesn't allow enough room to accelerate up enough to pass back into the left lane for when the exit comes up. I only will speed up to 45mph because I do not want a huge ticket. |
SAM2
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I'm very curious now. What road are you driving on that has multiple lanes and left exits, but also has a speed limit of only 35mph? |